Receptacle for electrical connecting and supporting devices



May 5, 1925. 1,536,318

E. C. WHITE RECEPTACLE FOR ELECTRICAL CONNECTING AND SUPPORTING DEVICES Filed March 26, 1921 /NVENTOR A441:

A TTORNE Y5 U .11] E E STATES OFFICE.

ERNEST CANTELO WHITE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR T ELECTRIC OUTLET COM- IPANY, INC., OF NEWYORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

RECEP'BACLE FOR ELECTRICAL CONNECTING: AND SUPIOBJIIIIIIGI' DEVICES.

Application filed March as, 1921. Serial No, 455,915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EnNns'r CAN'r'ELO WHITE, a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of the Bronx, of the city of New York, in the State of New York,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Receptacle for Electrical Connecting and Supporting Devices, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part hereof.

In Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,361,425, dated December 7, 1920, there are disclosed and claimed broadly electrical connecting and supporting devices wherein a curved conducting and supporting member enters a receptacle and co-operates with a suitable terminal therein so formed as to co-operate in the mechanical support of the curved member and afford intimate electrical contact therewith. In an application filed b. the present applicant on'March 5, 1920, er. No. 363,419, 'the principle described is shown as embodied inv a wall structure wherein the plug is formed with two upwardly curved members and the receptacle has therein appropriate terminals therefor. In Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,362,067, dated December 14, 1920, the same principle is illustrated as embodied in a ceiling structure wherein the curved conducting and supporting members "of the plug extend in different directions and the receptacle is provided with co-operating terminals therefor. In so far as said patents and application disclose separate receptacles were required for the wall structure and for the ceiling structure. It is the principal object of the present invention' to provide a receptacle which shall be so constructed that it may be placed in either the wall or the ceiling and receive the curved conducting and supporting members of both wall plugs and ceiling plugs constructed on the principal outlined above. In accordance with the invention the terminals of the improved receptacle are so stamped and formed that a strong mechanical support is afforded to the curved supporting members and intimate electrical contact is effected upon the introduction of said connecting members into the receptacle. In the interest of compactness, simplicity and inexpensiveness, it is proposed to form one terminal in the receptacle in such manner as to accommodate only a conducting and supporting member curved in a predetermined direction, while the other termmal is formed to accommodate conducting and supporting members curved in either direction. In this way, the similarly curved conducting and supporting members of a wall plug are received and the reverselv curved blades of a ceiling plug are acconimodated with equal facility.

While for convenience of this description the preamble has beendevoted somewhat to theexact typeof electrical connecting and supporting device disclosed in said patents and application, the appended claims will not be so limited since it is believed that the provision of a universal receptacle for the purposes described is new with the present applicant regardless of the character of the inter-engaging elements.

Having this statement of breadth in mind, reference is now to be had tothe accompanymg drawing for a detailed description of an embodiment of the invention wherein curved conducting and supporting members are employed. In the drawing Figures 1 and 2 are views in vertical section of the improved receptacle as installed in a wall, these sections being taken on the planes indicated by dotted lines 1-1 and 22 of Figure 3 respectively and looking in the direction of the arrows, the outline of the plug and blades being indicated in dotted lines.

Figure 3 is a view in front elevation of the receptacle, the face plate being indicated in dotted lines.

Figure tie a view invertical section of the improved receptacle in a ceiling installation, the outline of the plug and reversely i-nrved blades being indicated in dotted Ines.

Figure 5 is a view infront elevation of the terminals within the receptacle, all other material in the receptacle being omittedin the interest of clearness, but its outline being indicated in dotted lines.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary detail view in ion" vention shown in the drawing, the body of the receptacle a is made up of suitable in-' sulating material and is formed with. two parallel entrance openings a, a in its front wall which are preferably spaced apart to receive the parallel blades of a standard attachment plug. WVithin the receptacle are mounted two parallel terminals b, c, which are disposed immediately behind the receptacle openings a, a so that when-electrical connecting members of any form are passed through the openings contact with the terminals will be effected. Each of the terminals Z), c is preferably stamped, for manufacturing reasons, from an integral block and formed with ears I), b and c, 0 respectively, adjacent the opposite ends thereof, these ears being adapted, as shown most clearly in Figure 6, to lie over and rest on a supporting shoulder a formed in the insulating material of the receptacle. While it is evident that those skilled in the art may employ means of varied character for securing the terminals 6, 0 in place, it is proposed, as in Fi re 6, to rivet each of them, as by means 0 a threaded bushing, one of which is illustrated at d, and which may pass through an opening through the front wall of the receptacle. The outer end of this bushing may be flanged, as at 03, while the inner end passes through an opening in the ear 6 and may be spread therein so as to form a riveted connection? The bushing d is tapped to receive a binding screw 6 for the lead wires. Each one of the ears I), b and c, 0 is secured in place in the same manner so no further description thereof is necessary. The advantage of this form of retainer lies in the simplicity, inexpensiveness, rigidity and the important fact that the insulating material itself is put under compressive stresses.

The blanks of the terminals 6, c are so stamped as to present in alinement with the openings a. a? channels 6 respectively, to receive the upwardly curved conducting and supporting members f of a wall plug, such as is indicated in dotted lines in Figures 1 and 2. One of the terminals 7) is stamped to form a co-operating shoulder indicated generally at b for engagement by one edge of one of the conducting and supporting members 7 and the other terminal a is correspondingly formed, as at b to provide abearing surface for the other upward- 1y curved supporting and conducting member. The terminal 6 carries a spring brush 6 for frictional engagement by the conducting and supporting member to insure intimate electrical contact and minimize arcing. The other terminal 0 has a brush a which preferably lies opposite the mid section of the channel 0 for engagement by an upwardly curved supporting and conducting member, such as f, and for engagement by a reversely curved conducting and supporting member of a ceiling plug, as will hereinafter appear. The receptacle as thus far described may be mounted in a wall and receive the supporting fixture plug in a manner which will be understood. In the illustrated embodiment the support is given in accordance with the principle fully disclosed in the above recited Letters Patent and application. The object of the present invention is to adapt the same receptacle to the support of a ceiling plug so that, for instance, only one such receptacleneed be carried in stock and complete standardization thereof might be effected. To this end, one of the terminals 0 is stamped With a shouldered section a at the opposite side of the channel 0 from the previously described shoulder 0 This shoulder a is adapted to co-operate with a curved conducting and supporting member, such as 9 (Fig. 4) of a ceiling plug, while the shoulder b of the other terminal breceives and co-operates with the reversely curved conducting and supporting member 9 of said plug. As pointed out'before, the brush 0 is mounted in such relation to the entering channel 0 of the terminal 0 as to co-operate with conducting and supporting members introduced through said channel but extending in the direction of the shoulder 0 However, to afford adequate clearance for the conducting and supporting members which enter the channel 0 in either direction it may be found desirable to elongate the entrance opening a in the receptacle face.

The improved receptacle in a ceiling installation is illustrated clearly in Figure 4 wherein it appears that the reversely curved conducting and supporting members 9, g of a ceiling plug have been introduced through the same openings a, a and found support and electrical contact with the receptacle terminals 0, b.

It is to be emphasized again that while the invention is more particularly directed at devices for electrically connecting and supporting fixtures wherein curved conducting and supporting members are employed, as disclosed in said Letters Patent and applications, some of the appended claims are drawn deliberately of such scope as to include receptacles which will fall within the spirit and scope of the invention and yet may be used with supporting plugs of other types.

I claim as my invention:

1. A receptacle for an electrical connecting and supporting device formed with common entrance openings for condu ting and supporting members of a wall pl ceiling plug, and provided with terminals, one of said terminals having means to be engaged by one conducting and supporting member of either of said plugs, and means ug and a carried with the other of said terminals for engagement with only the supporting member of the ceiling plug.

2. A. receptacle for an electrical connecting and supporting device formed with common entrance openings for conducting and supporting members of a wall plug and a, ceiling plug, and provided with terminals having means to be engaged by conducting and supporting members of a wall plug respectively which are deflected generally in the same direction and conducting and sup porting members of a ceiling plug which extend generally in divergent directions.

3. A receptacle for an electrical connecting and supporting device formed with entrance openings for conducting and supporting members of a wall plug and a ceiling plug and provided With terminals having means to be engaged by conducting and supporting members of a wall plug respectively which are curved generally inthe same direction and -conduct1ng and supporting members of a ceiling plug which are curved generally in opposite directions.

4. A receptacle for an electrical connecting-and supporting device formed with two entrance openings for conducting and suportin members of a wall lu and a ceiling plug and provided with two terminal plates back of the respective openings, one of said plates having bearing surfaces formed therein to be engaged by a conducting and supporting member extending in a predetermined direction, and the other of said plates havingbearing surfaces formed therein to be engaged by conducting and supporting members extending in either one of two diiferent directions.

This specification signed this 25th day of 40 March, A. D. 1921.

ERNEST CANTELO WHITE. 

